thedrifter
03-23-04, 01:14 PM
FBI Spied on Kerry During His Antiwar Days
By Staff and Wire Reports
Mar 23, 2004, 06:01
Reports that the FBI monitored John Kerry's anti-war activities in the early 1970s highlight the need "to be vigilant about civil liberties," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said Monday.
In a radio interview Monday evening on WBZ-AM in Boston, Kerry said the reports are "such ancient history."
"It's just sort of in the past, but it underscores to everyone of us why we have to be vigilant about civil liberties, why we have to have an attorney general who respects the Constitution, and why our Bill of Rights is so important in the United States," said Kerry, who was on vacation in Sun Valley.
He added: "We're suddenly learning about it because I am about to be the nominee of the party, and the Republicans are very good at finding records that have been lost for a long period of time, particularly when they control the government."
The Los Angeles Times, in a story published Monday, cited FBI documents indicating the bureau spent a year monitoring the activities of the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War. After returning from Vietnam, where he commanded a swift boat and won honors that included three Purple Hearts, Kerry became a leader of the group, thus coming under FBI scrutiny.
Earlier Monday, a spokesman for Kerry's campaign said the reports are both "a badge of honor" and a troubling example of government intrusion into peaceful and legitimate protest.
"Revealed in page after page of FBI reports is the portrait of John Kerry at age 27 speaking with courage and conviction, leading veterans to Washington for peaceful protests, advocating nonviolent protests and moderation," said spokesman David Wade.
Wade noted that the FBI concluded Kerry was simply a peaceful and legitimate protester, but he said reports of the clandestine surveillance of the group brought home the troubling divisions the war created for the country.
"That the Hoover FBI and the Nixon White House paid such attention to John Kerry is both a badge of honor and a reminder of that difficult pre-Watergate era in our country," Wade said.
He said Kerry returned "with a deep sense of moral responsibility to end the war" and understood at the time he was fighting against entrenched powers.
"He knew it wouldn't be easy," Wade said. "The Nixon White House set out to destroy him because he was a credible voice speaking up for veterans. Now we learn that J. Edgar Hoover's FBI was following his every move."
Although Kerry was a leader of the VVAW, he eventually left it after concluding that the most effective way to oppose the war was to run for public office, Wade said.
© 2004 The Associated Press
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4273.shtml
Ellie
By Staff and Wire Reports
Mar 23, 2004, 06:01
Reports that the FBI monitored John Kerry's anti-war activities in the early 1970s highlight the need "to be vigilant about civil liberties," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said Monday.
In a radio interview Monday evening on WBZ-AM in Boston, Kerry said the reports are "such ancient history."
"It's just sort of in the past, but it underscores to everyone of us why we have to be vigilant about civil liberties, why we have to have an attorney general who respects the Constitution, and why our Bill of Rights is so important in the United States," said Kerry, who was on vacation in Sun Valley.
He added: "We're suddenly learning about it because I am about to be the nominee of the party, and the Republicans are very good at finding records that have been lost for a long period of time, particularly when they control the government."
The Los Angeles Times, in a story published Monday, cited FBI documents indicating the bureau spent a year monitoring the activities of the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War. After returning from Vietnam, where he commanded a swift boat and won honors that included three Purple Hearts, Kerry became a leader of the group, thus coming under FBI scrutiny.
Earlier Monday, a spokesman for Kerry's campaign said the reports are both "a badge of honor" and a troubling example of government intrusion into peaceful and legitimate protest.
"Revealed in page after page of FBI reports is the portrait of John Kerry at age 27 speaking with courage and conviction, leading veterans to Washington for peaceful protests, advocating nonviolent protests and moderation," said spokesman David Wade.
Wade noted that the FBI concluded Kerry was simply a peaceful and legitimate protester, but he said reports of the clandestine surveillance of the group brought home the troubling divisions the war created for the country.
"That the Hoover FBI and the Nixon White House paid such attention to John Kerry is both a badge of honor and a reminder of that difficult pre-Watergate era in our country," Wade said.
He said Kerry returned "with a deep sense of moral responsibility to end the war" and understood at the time he was fighting against entrenched powers.
"He knew it wouldn't be easy," Wade said. "The Nixon White House set out to destroy him because he was a credible voice speaking up for veterans. Now we learn that J. Edgar Hoover's FBI was following his every move."
Although Kerry was a leader of the VVAW, he eventually left it after concluding that the most effective way to oppose the war was to run for public office, Wade said.
© 2004 The Associated Press
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4273.shtml
Ellie